Nightmares Beware!
by Ldot
Summary: Face struggles with his nightmares.


Nightmares Beware!

by Ldot

Disclaimer: The characters in this story are owned by Stephen J. Cannell. I am not making any money from this venture. 

Note: This was my very first fanfic. It has been posted it on a couple of A-Team mailing lists in the past two years and currently resides at www.ateamfanfic.com as well as here. 

__

No! Chao! No!

"Face!"

__

Evil, grinning face coming nearer, and nearer, and nearer...

"Face! Wake up!"

__

Someone is shaking me. I open my eyes, and the leering face vanishes into the white void of a ceiling. Thank God, it's only a nightmare. Where am I? What happened? Oh Lord, I hurt. Head hurts, bones hurt, everything hurts. Concentrate on ceiling. Focus on ceiling and ignore the pain. Ceiling slowly begins to spin. I guess that's a bad idea. I close my eyes, again.

"Hannibal, get back into bed and lie down. You're much too ill to be out of bed."

"Ma'am, Face is having nightmares. Someone's gotta sit near him or he won't sleep."

"That's all right. I'll sit with him."

__

Large, warm hand grasps mine. Large, warm presence by my side starts to hum hymns, ones I remember from my childhood. I relax. I'm safe. Peaceful darkness envelops me.

*********************

"Hello?" 

__

Tentative voice. Amy? What's she doing here? Where am I?

"There you are, child. I'm so glad you could make it, Amy."

"I came as soon as I could, Mrs. Baracus. What happened? All I know is that I got this frantic message from BA asking me to come here as soon as I could."

"Well, it looks like the boys were hit by that really nasty flu that's goin' 'round. Apparently, Face simply passed out in this apartment the day before yesterday. By the time they found him, Hannibal was in a bad way, himself. Since both Murdock and Bosco could also feel the symptoms, they called us for help. It's a good thing, too. They're as weak as kittens."

"Mama!"

"I'm here, baby. Amy, would you please get a glass of water? Hush, Scooter, Mama's here."

__

Warm presence moves away. Please don't go! Too tired to protest. Too tired to fight sleep...

**********************

Cramped in a cage with the others. Pain from the last interrogation still crippling me. They're coming again. No! Please!

"C'mon, Face, wake up!"

__

Gasping into awareness, my eyes open automatically. The world still spins in a nauseating way. I close my eyes quickly! 

Someone sits heavily on the edge of the bed. 

"Move over, muchacho."

__

Murdock! My friend, my brother. With effort, I roll over. Murdock collapses next to me with a sigh. I'm safe now. I can relax. I can...

*********************

The world is shaking and shivering. Earthquake? Suddenly, the world stops shaking, replaced by a cold vacuum where Murdock used to be. I can only manage a mew of protest.

"C'mon, Murdock. Let's get you back into your own bed. Your fever has risen. We have to cool you down."

"Amy, I can't leave Face. He'll get nightmares."

"Murdock, your fever can't be reduced while lying next to a man who also has a fever. You can't stay there."

"Don't worry, Captain. I'll take over."

__

Another body fills the void next to me. A strong arm wraps around me, pulling me close into a safe embrace. Hannibal. I sigh with relief and...

**********************

"Well, how are you patients, today, Mrs. Baracus?"

"I don't mind telling you, Doctor, that I'm concerned about how long they've been sick."

"That's pretty normal for this flu. I expect they will have the symptoms for at least a week and maybe as long as three. That's why I made sure you and Ms. Allen had flu shots. This is not the mild bug that people usually call flu. This is the full blown thing. And, all you can do is make sure they drink plenty of liquids, keep cool, and take Tylenol or something like that. I don't recommend aspirin since it might upset their already tender tummies."

"All right, Doctor. I would like you to check out Face, here. He seems to be having difficulty focussing."

__

Cold hand opens eyes. Bright light makes me squint. I swat his hand. At least, I try to.

"Okay, son. I'll stop now. Well, Mrs. Baracus, I think that bang on the head he got when he collapsed may have given him a concussion. Since he's already lying down and taking it easy, I think he'll recover from that in his own time. Um, is there a reason why there is an empty bed over there and two in one bed over here?"

"Face has been having nightmares so the others are taking turns making him feel safe so he'll sleep."

"Just be careful. The body heat of another person may make it difficult to reduce his fever."

__

No! Don't leave me, Hannibal! The arm around my chest squeezes me reassuringly.

"Don't panic, kid. I'm not leaving you. You're safe."

*********************

__

Once again, there is a cold space where comfort used to be. Panic rises, and I rise with it. Eyes opening to a strange world of spinning objects and familiar faces and... darkness descends.

Powerful arms pull me upright. I open my eyes to see a pair of dark, muscular arms wrapped around my torso. BA to the rescue. I close my eyes again and smile.

"Hey, little brother, Hannibal had to take a little walk. He'll be back. Why don't you stay with me for awhile."

__

I'm not alone; my big brother is here for me. I nod my head with relief.

"The thing is, you gotta come over to my bed because it's bigger. Do you think you can make it?"

__

Again, I nod my head. 

Slowly, he helps me stand, and together we stagger the three steps to his bed. We collapse. Even that short distance has wiped us out. The great A-Team finally defeated by a mere microbe. 

Laughter bubbles up and lets loose. BA also starts to laugh. It's not often we two laugh together, but every time we do, it's like we create a new bond of closeness. I open my eyes long enough to grin at him, and he gives me one of his rare, beatific smiles back.

Nightmares beware! The A-Team is with ME!


End file.
